Increased therapy has been associated with improvements in functional ability of people with stroke. The goal of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two alternative models of increased physiotherapy service delivery (seven-day week therapy or group circuit class therapy five days a week) to usual care. Two hundred eighty-three participants were randomized; primary outcome data were available for 259 (92%). In the seven-day arm participants received an additional three hours of physiotherapy and those in the circuit class arm an additional 22 h. There were no significant between-group differences at four-weeks in walking distance (P = 0·72). Length of stay was shorter for seven-day (mean difference -2·9 days, 95% confidence interval -17·9 to 12·0) and circuit class participants (mean difference -9·2 days, 95% confidence interval -24·2 to 5·8) in comparison to usual care, however this was not significant.

Both seven-day therapy and group circuit class therapy increased physiotherapy time, but walking outcomes weren’t superior to usual care.